"Tribute in Light" marks 9/11 anniversary in New York

The "Tribute in Light" event, dedicated to the memory of the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, is being held in New York on Wednesday, Azernews reports.

Two beams of powerful searchlights are directed toward the sky, symbolizing the twin towers destroyed by terrorists. Forty-four searchlights are used to create columns of light visible up to 100 kilometers away. The tribute has been held annually since 2002.

Earlier, a solemn ceremony was conducted at the memorial complex on the site of the former Twin Towers in New York. During the ceremony, relatives of the deceased read out the names of the victims.

On September 11, 2001, 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger planes in the United States. Two of these planes were flown into the World Trade Center towers—then the tallest buildings in New York—while a third plane was directed at the Pentagon near Washington, D.C. The fourth plane was headed towards the American capital but crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. As a result of the attacks, 2,977 people lost their lives.